Badiou and Theology.

The French philosopher Alain Badiou (born 1937), is one of the main representatives of a recent philosophical homage to Saint Paul. Yet, Badiou is not a believer in the traditional sense, let alone a Christian philosopher. On the contrary, he rejects transcendence and pleads for a radical this-worldliness.

This does not mean however that his work is of no use for theologians, though a theological engagement with him will necessarily take some time. This book takes the first steps in that direction. It focuses on Badiou's ontology because his challenge to theology, and more in particular to the doctrine of God, is to be found at this level of his system.

The starting point is Badiou's claim that nowadays true religion and true faith are no longer possible. This claim is evaluated in three parts: first the theological context in which ontology becomes necessary, second why we should turn to Badiou as a plausible source for such an ontology, and third, Badiou's atheist stance and its implications. Depoortere shows that Badiou's atheist ontology can nevertheless be opened towards God.
Table of Contents

Table of Contents
Abbreviations
Introduction: Alain Badiou, Theology and the Political
1. Christianity and the Modern Passion for the New
2. The Theological Promise of Alain Badiou
3. The Threefold 'Death' of God: Badiou's Challenge to Theology
4. Aim and Scope of the Present Volume

Chapter 1: Faith and the Existence of God
1. Religion and Faith: Terminological Clarifications
a. Religion
b. Faith
b.1. Dei Filius on Faith
b.2. Thomas Aquinas on Faith
b.3. Conclusion

c. Conclusion

2. The Existence of God Revisited
a. The Closed Circle of Faith: An Example
b. An Analysis of Existential Statements in General
c. An Analysis of the Statement 'God Exists'
d. Aquinas's Understanding of Being and the Being of God
e. In Conclusion

Chapter 2: Badiou on Being
1. The Mathematical Turn
2. Ontology: Theory of the Pure Multiple
3. Ontology: Theory of the Void
a. Introducing the Issue of Zero
b. The Multiple of Nothing
c. The Void
d. Theory of the Void

4. The Actual Infinite
5. In Conclusion

Chapter 3: First Steps Towards a Future Theological Evaluation of Badiou's Ontology
1. Aquinas on God's Infinity and Unity
2. Cantor on Aquinas, Origen and Augustine on the Mathematical Infinite
3. Cantor on the Absolute
4. God's Infinity and Unity Revisited in the Context of Set Theory

Bibliography

Index